AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Field and Laboratory Measurements of Aerosolized Blue-Green Algal Toxins in South Florida
MICHAEL SHERIDAN, Haley Plaas, Haley Royer, Lilly Blume, Chuyan Wan, Dhruv Mitroo, Kimberly Popendorf, Larry Brand, Cassandra Gaston, University of Miami
Abstract Number: 490 Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols
Abstract Cyanobacteria (e.g., blue-green algae) form Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in freshwater lakes and produce several toxins, most notably ß-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and microcystin. These toxins present a public health concern, since microcystin has been found to promote liver cancer while BMAA has been recognized as a neurotoxin correlated to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Amyotrophic Latera Sclerosis (ALS). The impact of BMAA and microcystin on seafood and water quality have been investigated, but the more direct exposure route through toxin-containing inhalable particles has not been well-established. In the summer of 2018, a massive bloom of cyanobacteria adversely impacted South Florida’s lakes, rivers, canals, and lochs. We collected air samples near these waterways and lake water samples that we used to generate lake spray aerosol with a bubbling apparatus. The aim of this work is to quantify aerosolized BMAA and microcystin concentrations in ambient air and water samples and in aerosols generated from bubbled water samples as well as to determine the water-to-air transfer of these toxic compounds. We measured BMAA and microcystin concentrations in both ambient and lab-bubbled air and in water samples using standard methods (e.g., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)) and mass spectrometry methods capable of quantifying individual toxin congeners. Our analysis shows that toxins are indeed aerosolized, which has implications for how blue-green algae blooms can impact air quality and health in South Florida.